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Hello I'm thinking of buying a Kawai ES7, but I would like to know if there is any way of choosing drums as instrument (not as accompaniament), it seems to be not possible...And I wonder if when it plays back a multi track midi file the percussion track can be heard properly.Thanks to everyone

Marcos, I'm afraid the ES7's drumkits cannot be selected from the instrument's panel, however they should be accessible via MIDI.

Regarding your second question, yes, playing back a MIDI backing track (with percussion) will work correctly. However, please bear in mind that the ES7 does not support the full gamut of GM/GM2 sounds. Therefore some songs that utilise these voices may not sound 100% accurate.

Do the keys on the ES7 have less travel (feel shallower) than some of the other DP's it's usually compared to? Is that something that's consistent between acoustics or does it also vary?

When I tried the ES7 the other day it did feel as if the keys didn't have to go down as far to reach the bottom. Not sure if I'm wrong on that or if it being setup at an angle on a rack had anything to do with it.

Unfortunately acoustics have a good bit of variation in travel as well from one piano to the next. I don't regularly play a large number of pianos, but the grand I play most often has noticeably longer travel than the upright acoustic I play most. The last few grands I have played had longer than average travel as well.

I believe there has been a general trend toward longer travel at the same time as there has been a general trend toward heavier keys over time. At least among grands. Not necessarily a good thing in either case.

I find that my MP8 has what feels like an average travel, perhaps on the longer side. I'd be interested if the ES7 has a shorter travel.

Do the keys on the ES7 have less travel (feel shallower) than some of the other DP's it's usually compared to? Is that something that's consistent between acoustics or does it also vary?

When I tried the ES7 the other day it did feel as if the keys didn't have to go down as far to reach the bottom. Not sure if I'm wrong on that or if it being setup at an angle on a rack had anything to do with it.

I have not tried many DP, I own a Kawai CL35 and I have played some Roland, Yamaha and Privia, I believe that all of them have more travel than both upright and grands I've played. But when I tried a Kawai upright I remember that the keys went very deep (comparing with accoustic pianos I had played). Anyway it will not take more than a couple of hours to adapt yourself. My teacher strongly recomended to play as much pianos as possible, unless you can travel with yours, you don't know what you will find I am very interested on this DP too!

Do the keys on the ES7 have less travel (feel shallower) than some of the other DP's it's usually compared to? Is that something that's consistent between acoustics or does it also vary?

When I tried the ES7 the other day it did feel as if the keys didn't have to go down as far to reach the bottom. Not sure if I'm wrong on that or if it being setup at an angle on a rack had anything to do with it.

I have not tried many DP, I own a Kawai CL35 and I have played some Roland, Yamaha and Privia, I believe that all of them have more travel than both upright and grands I've played. But when I tried a Kawai upright I remember that the keys went very deep (comparing with accoustic pianos I had played). Anyway it will not take more than a couple of hours to adapt yourself. My teacher strongly recomended to play as much pianos as possible, unless you can travel with yours, you don't know what you will find I am very interested on this DP too!

I didn't much like the rather shallow feel to the keys myself. Apart from that the ES7 seems great, the action feels good and the sound really quite pleasing from the internal speakers. I had been having my lessons on a Kawai upright before, but on the day I went to the shop I'd had my lesson on a Yamaha S4 grand beforehand. I also tried out a lot of different DP's from Yamaha before going to another shop which had the ES7, MP10, CA95, Roland RD700NX and FP80 as well as the Korg SV-1. It was only when trying the ES7 towards the end that I even thought about the key depth/travel as it felt different from everything else. There's also shop with Casio's range next door to there which I should've tried out.

Yes I agree about playing as many pianos as possible. I'm lucky in where I live as there's many practice rooms you can book with different pianos (Kawai, Yamaha, Steinway, Fazioli). As well as lots of shops with DP's and acoustics. Many teachers too. One of the teachers I had a trial lesson is from Argentina and teaches on a Yamaha Grand C3 and also has a couple of DPs in his music studio.

. . . HOwever, I have just seen this video, and the Kawai on Musikmesse is telling that is has 6 tweeters on top of the piano and 2 subwoofers underneath (if I understood correctly the tweeter part). . .

Ouch !!! I heard the same thing. Kawai needs to do some more education, here. The six tweeters are imaginary, and no 8x12 cm speaker qualifies as a "subwoofer".

The holes in the bottom _may be_ "bass-reflex ports". If the cabinet is designed as a proper speaker enclosure, those would help the low-end sound significantly.

kapelli, as you note, the ES7 features a 2x 8x12 cm speaker system. All markets share this same specification.

The ES7's speaker system is very strong, and arguably one of the best available on a portable stage piano.

Kind regards,Jamesx

Thanks JAmes, I was just reffering to the completely wrong specification given by a Kawai rep, not complaining to the ES7 system by itself.

Originally Posted By Charles Cohen

Ouch !!! I heard the same thing. Kawai needs to do some more education, here. The six tweeters are imaginary, and no 8x12 cm speaker qualifies as a "subwoofer".

The holes in the bottom _may be_ "bass-reflex ports". If the cabinet is designed as a proper speaker enclosure, those would help the low-end sound significantly.Charles

Indeed. Nothing to add here to your comment.I watched the video once again now, and he is clearly saying "..also underneath we have two big subwoofer spekaers"

While a 16cm speaker can be a subwoofer... so the bass-reflex ports is not. It's a tool made to make bass response better, and b-r is both referring to the enclosure type and port tube by itself. Getting the basics of what and why the b-r spekaer cabinets are made, takes 30 minutes. It's not a rocket science to get the bare basics.

I do think, that such information shouldn't be given by a compay representative. But maybe he was thinking of CN35 or CA67 speaker system?